“I assure you the city has taken exhaustive steps for whatever comes our way and the very best first responders are going to work to make sure we get through this night as safely as possible.”

“We have prepared for this we have worked very hard. We warned the public and now we have to deal with what comes from mother nature. Your safety, your own safety depends on what you do.”

by Lauren Johnston

God bless new York!!!!!

by sunkie_33

Where did the coment go about the Bloomberg announcement on the radio? What station? Why do comments and photos keep disappearing?

by Kathy

Kathy, when did you post the comment? Was it approved or just in moderation?

by Anjali Mullany

Why are the hotels shutting down their air conditioning?

by theray

Theray - not sure. Mayor Bloomberg just said a second ago that there's no reason why hotels can't keep their air conditioning going. He says the bigger concern is about elevators - people could get stuck inside.

by Anjali Mullany

Mayor Bloomberg live press conference - his message is to get through the hurricane with as little cost to human safety as possible & THE TIME FOR EVACUATION IS DONE. Key quotes:

“Tomorrow morning when you wake up, whatever the conditions are please stay inside."

"The message is different now – the time to evacuate has passed, now it’s time to focus on what to do where you are."

The mayor also advises:

ConEd may be forced to shut down parts of the grid, I think everyone should be prepared for that when they wake up in the morning.

- Stay put and stay away from windows- Bunker down in the room with the fewest windows- Keep flashlights close, avoid candles for fire safety reasons- make sure windows and doors leading to outside are closed- turn off propane tanks

- On Rikers, says it was not evacuated because it is not located in a flood risk area

- On possible price gouging, says he can't say no one is doing it, but in general believes, "New yorkers don’t do that sort of thing. That’s not the New York way.”

by Lauren Johnston

Ok, here's my quickie story on the Bloomberg presser that ended a short time ago:

by Celeste Katz

The President today declared a major disaster exists in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and ordered federal aid to supplement commonwealth and local recovery efforts in the area struck by Hurricane Irene beginning on August 21, 2011, and continuing. The President's action makes federal funding available to affected individuals in the municipalities of Caguas, Canóvanas, Carolina, Cayey, Loíza, Luquillo, and San Juan.

by Celeste Katz

TORNADO WATCH in NYC until 5 a.m. for the following counties: Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, Westchester. All New York advisories HERE.

TORNADO WARNING in ATALANTIC CITY until 9:15 p.m. National Weather Service radar shows a thunderstorm that could produce a tornado near Longport, seven miles south of Atlantic City.

TORNADO WARNING in SOUTHERN NJ until 9:30 p.m. for East Central Burlington County and Southern Ocean county.

Definitions WATCH vs. WARNING: WATCH: Conditions described may occur in a specified area usually within 36 hours

WARNING: Conditions described are expected in specified area usually within 24 hours(information via FEMA)

WHAT ELSE TO EXPECT TONIGHT:NYC Commissioner of the Office of Emergency Management (@NYCOEM) Joseph Bruno says to be prepared for the following:

Mayor Bloomberg has just given what we're told will be his last formal update of the night on the progress of Hurricane Irene.

"You should have left earlier, but if you didn't, our advice would be -- and you do it at your own risk... stay where you are," Bloomberg said from emergency headquarters.

The storm will continue to worsen through the night, with officials keeping their eyes on 8 a.m. tomorrow, the next high tide.

"We have warned the public and now we have to deal with what comes from Mother Nature," he said. "Your own safety depends on what you do."

Most people have tried to comply with orders to evacuate danger zones and stay out of the water -- with the notable exception of two kayakers who had to be rescued by first responders after a 911 call. The kayakers received summonses for deliberately ignoring the safety warnings, the mayor said.

For now, he said, the best thing to do is stay indoors, away from windows, and "get a good night's sleep."

Some areas of the city, including parts of Queens, are already experiencing loss of electricity. If the power goes out, call 311 or text 311692 (that's 311 NYC). 911 is for emergencies ONLY, Bloomberg said.

Bloomberg also defended the decision not to evacuate Rikers Island prison: "It is higher than the Zone A areas and it's perfectly safe," he said.

Amid reports that hotels are closing down air conditioning and elevator systems, Bloomberg said there's no reason to stop the A/C running, but elevators may be halted to avoid having people get trapped in an outage.

As for the possibility of price-gouging on much-sought items like food and flashlights, Bloomberg said there may have been scattered reports of such chiseling, but overall, "This emergency is really bringing out the best in New Yorkers."

"We'd like to get through this with as minimal damage to human beings as possible," he said.

by Celeste Katz

Reports of power outages circulating.

As of 9pm ConEd issued this statement: "Four hundred crews from around the country, some from as far away as Colorado and Texas, have either arrived or are arriving to assist Con Edison employees who are addressing customer problems and outages."

Susan Hager of United Way of New York State emails me: 2-1-1 Hudson Valley (located in White Plains) has logged 1200 storm related calls for the day. A significant number of these are from Spanish speaking residents, which 2-1-1 can handle through their language translation service. Staff are staying overnight in the call center with a generator to back them up in case of power failure. They will continue to operate 24/7. The county executive has urged residents to call 2-1-1 for non emergency assistance. 2-1-1 Capital Region has not received any calls as of late this afternoon – will have an update tomorrow.

by Celeste Katz

What NOT to do during the storm? Go kayaking.

Mayor Bloomberg blasted two kayakers who ignored his advice and had to be rescued by the NYPD Harbor Patrol after their boats tipped over in the pre-hurricane waters of Lower New York Bay on Saturday, police said.

“Why they were out there despite all the warnings? I don't know. They were rescued and are ok,” said the visibly annoyed mayor at an evening press conference.

The two launched the kayaks from Staten Island and paddled into the bay as the storm roared up the East Coast, police said.

The vessel capsized in the rough waters near Mayberry Promenade in Eltingville, about 9 p.m. police said.

They were plucked from the water by the patrol boat about a half-hour later, cops said. Both men were wearing life jackets, police said.

"They went out and they thought they could handle the surf," said a police source.

The men, both Staten Island residents in their 30's, were taken to the dry land in Great Kills and then to the 123rd Precinct in Tottenville, where they were each issued criminal court summonses for violating a local emergency order, a misdemeanor, said police.

- By REUVEN BLAU and John Doyle

by Lauren Johnston

VIA @NYCOEM - this is what you should be doing right now New York:

- STAY INDOORS- Move to a room with as few windows as possible to ride out the storm - Move as far away as possible from windows - Make sure windows and doors leading to the outside are closed.- If you have a fireplace in your home, close the damper.- Turn off any propane tanks.- Use flashlights, not candles

Residents should be prepared for the possibility of power outages. Fill your bathtubs and sinks with water. If you lose power, call 311 or your power provider. Con Ed: -800-75-CONED, National Grid: 1-800-465-1212.

by Lauren Johnston

Flooding on FDR drive confirmed by our own @GridlockSam who says the drive is flooded at 63rd street, but all lanes still passable at this time. This SUPER USEFUL traffic map plots all Irene-related traffic updates. That said, you should not be on the roads. Stay in, the winds are raging.